Accumulator.



No. 715,343 Patentednec. 9, |902.

- F. u. BLANC. f

AGCUMULATDR.

Application mea Feb. 1v. 1902., v

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES ATENT CFEICE.

FREDERIC NICOLAS BLANC, F PARIS, FRANCE.

ACCUMULATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 715,343, dated December 9, 1902.

' Application filed February 17, 1902. Serial No. 94,347. (No model.)

To a/Z whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERIC NICOLAS BLANC, a citizen of the United States, residing at Paris, France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Accumulators, which improvements are fully set forth in the following specification.

According to this invention aluminium covered with metallic lead is used for the construction of the different parts of an accumulator,such as the negative and positive plates, frames, connections, and cases.

In the accompanyingdrawingsIliave shown an accumulator-plate embodying the main features of my invention.

Figure l is a front view of part of said plate broken away to illustrate the inner arrangement thereof. Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken on the line A A of Fig. 1

Referring to the drawings, l represents the core of the plate, provided with a frame 2. Both core and frame are made of aluminium and are entirely covered, as well as the connection 3, with a covering 4i, of metallic lead. A coating of the paste 5 is applied on both faces of the plate thus made and is surrounded by the frame 2. The covering 4, of metallic lead, is deposited by plunging the plate into a bath of molten lead, the plate of aluminium having been previously covered electrolytically with a covering of copper or with any other suitable metal deposited equally by electrolysis, so as to facilitate the adherence of the lead onto the aluminium. l

One method of electroplating aluminium with copper is as follows: After scraping the aluminium article to be plated with sand or caustic potash it is placed in a weak solution of hydrochloric acid. It is then slightly washed before being dropped into the Erst bath of copper. of neutral sulfate of copper dissolved up to saturation in distilled water. The article is left in the rst bath for half an hour, the current, however, being much stronger than that ordinarilyused for electroplating,ten amperes per square decimeter of surface of the article being suitable. When the article has been well coated with copper, it is put into a second bath composed of sulfate of copper dissolved up to saturation in acidulous water, the bath This first bath is composed being of 22 to 25 Baume. In the second bath the current is normal-that is to say, from one to two amperes per square decimeter of surface of the article. In both baths the anodes are in red copper and must have about the same area as the article to be electroplated. In the first bath the coating of copper deposited upon the article is comparatively thin, but in the second bath a coating of any thickness may be secured.

The object of the covering of metallic lead is for the purpose of insulating the aluminium from the electrolyte, and thus avoiding the formation of sulfate of aluminium, which being a bad conductor would hinder the passage of Vthe current or, what comes to the same thing, increase the resistance of the plate.

Thus my invention consists in utilizing the` light Weight of the aluminium in the construction of accumulator-plates, While protecting this aluminium from the electrolytic actionof the bath. It is thus seen that the covering .of lead should be continuons without abreak,

from which follows the necessity of utilizing the process described above for coating with lead.

Although I have shown in the drawings a plate of a definite shape, it must be understood that my invention is applicable to a plate of any shape, whether iiat or corrugated or provided with projections or perfor-ations and whether covered with paste on both faces or only on one of. them. My invention is also applicable to the case and to all the parts forming an accumulator.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is- In an electrical accumulator, a support for an electrode, consisting of aluminium electroplated with copper and covered with metallic lead.

In testimony whereof I have' signed this specification in the presence vof two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERIC NICOLAS BLANC.

Witnesses:

EDWARD P. MACLEAN, JEAN PIERRE ETIENNE VAUCHER. 

